Mechanism for feeding bottles and the like.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH H. CHAMP, OFVCLEVELAND, OHIO.

MECHANISM FOR FEEDING BOTTLES ANI) THE LIKE.

' Application led February 15, 1911.

To all whom z't may concern Be it known that I, JosnPH H. CHAMP, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Cleveland, county ofCuyahoga, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Mechanism for Feeding Bottles and the like, of which the following isa specification, the principle of the invention being herein explainedand the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle,so as to distinguish it from other inventions.

In connection with bottle filling machines of the continuous rotatingtype, such as illustrated in my Patent No. 956,285, dated April 2G,1910, it has for some time been the practice to utilize automatic bottlereceiving devices, whereby the filled bottles are automatically removedfrom the successive holders of the machine asl they are brought aroundtothe discharge station. Owing, however, to a variety of difficulties ithas heretofore been found impossible to devise means capable ofsimilarly automatically feeding the bottles to such machine, forobviously such feeding operation must not only synchronize with therotative movement of the machine, but must also be responsive to varyingconditions that may exist in the bottle holders, so as not to force abottle onto the machine where not fitted to receive it through someaccident or improper location of parts. By the present invention theseseveral difficulties are overcome. and a mechanism is provided that iscapable of thus automatically feeding the bottles onto thesuccessivediolders of the machine, as also one that is adjustable toaccommodate different sizes of bottles suchv as may be filled with themachine at different times.

To the accomplishment of these and related ends, the invention, then,consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 4, 1916.

Serial No. 608,787.

view of the same, and partly a section on the line 2 2, Fig. l; Figs. 3,4 and 5 respectively illustrate, in different operative positions,certain details of the mechanism; and Fig. 6 shows a modification.

Only so much of the filling machine proper is shown in said figures asis necessary to illustrate the relation thereto of the bottle feedingapparatus; and while the machine thus selected for illustrative purposesis the machine of the patent previously named, it will, ofcourse, beunderstood that the present mechanism may 'be employed in conjunctionwith any machine of the same general type, viz. characterized by havinga plurality of conjointly movable bottle holders, or lifts, on which thebottles require to be placed during the filling operation. The portionof the machine thus illustrated then, comprises la series of bottleholders, or lifts 1, as they may be variously radialarms 3, while noneof the filling mechanism, proper, at all is shown.

The mechanism of present interest is supported upon a horizontal plate,or table 4, suitably secured to the machine fram 5 at an elevation suchthat the upper surface of said table is on substantially7 the same planeas the holders 1 of the filling machine whereon the bottles require tobe placed. Said table in the illustrated constructional form is locatedin close proximity to the bottle receiving apparatus 6 whereby thefilled bottles are removed from the machine. This apparatus however,forms no part of the present invention and hence need not be furtherdescribed.

Extending longitudinally of table 4, or in other words, in a more orless tangential direction relatively to the circular path of travel ofthe bottle holders 1 is an endless belt 7, the upper lap of which issubstantially flush with the top of the table and serves as a conveyer,whereby the bottles placed thereon by the operator are moved up into aposition directly adjacent to the bottle holders as they pass. Said beltmay be driven through any suitable mechanism as a chain 8 and sprocket9, either from some rotating part of the filling machine, or

independently; for as will presently appear, it is not essential thatthe rate of movement of the belt and that of the machine should becorrelated; the only requirement being that the bottles, be brought upat leastas fast as is necessary to supply successive holders of saidmachine. The bottles4 are heldin lineas they are thus conveyed to thefeeding station by said conveyer belt, and at the same time areprevented from being crowded off from the latter, by means of guides 10and 11, one on each side of said belt. The guide 10 on the inner side.is preferably f straight throughout 'and pivotally secured to thesupporting plate by a in 12 and is capable of a certain amount ooscillation about such pin, although normally held in substantialalinement with the edge of the belt by a spring 13 attached to'the sideof the guide and held between studs d34 on the upper face of said plate.The guide 11 on the outer side on the contrary has its inner end, thatis the one at the discharge end of the belt, extend beyond that of theinner guide and curved so as to direct the endmost bottle off the beltand onto a bottle holder when stationed adjacent to this point. Saidouter guide is attached to the plate yby means of two laterallyprojecting, slotted ears 14 through which set bolts 15 are adapted topass, whereby said guide may be adjusted transversely of the belt topermit the passage ,between it and the other guide of Vbottles ofdifferent sizes.

Operation of the mechanism, whereby the bottles are singly placed ontosuccessive holders, is controlled independently of the conveyer justdescribed and directly by the holders themselves. This mechanismcomprises a gate in the formjof la pivotal memberl with two 'angularlyrelated radially extending arms 17 land 18 against the latter of which,in the normal position of said gate, the innermost bottle of the seriesresting on the conveyer iscaught so as to block its 'further advance.(See Fig. 4).

The gate arm 17 extends beyond the edge of the table and into the pathof the holders 1 so that the latter are adapted to successively engagetherewith and swing the gate n into the position shown in Fig. 3. Theendl most bottle in this position is free to slide off the belt andintervening section of the table onto the holder, which has thusactuated the gate, the bottle being induced to do this by reason of thepressureof the following bottles against it. This movementl need noteffect immediately a complete transfer of the bottle thus shoved out ofline, as it were, but as the holder moves onward, it sweeps such bottlealong with it and the combined wedging effect of the next succeeding`bottle. together with that of a resilient guide or finger 19 disposed soas to intersect at a slight angle the path of the holders, as

. 18 will be movedout of the way of the can C. The latter is thenoperated by the conveyer vto force the can B onto the holder as shown inFig. 3. The can B is not fullyon the holder but is moved farther onto'the same by the spring 19, upon continued rotation of the holderassisted' by the can CI which is moved along the arm 18 of the -v gate.The holder is ofcourse provided with a raised rim or lateral flange 20of the proper conformation to thus receive said bottle and locate thesame centrally With respect to the filling mechanism (not shown)Wherewith it is intended to subsequently cooperate. As soon as a bottlehas been thus moved out of the Way, the gate 16 is swung back into itsnormal position by the operation of a tension spring 21, which isconnected with an `arm 22 attached to the gate for this purpose, suchspring lying against the outside face of the guide 11, shown in Fig. 4.An intermediate position of the parts is illustrated in Fig. 5. Theadvance of the line of bottles is now again stopped until another holderengages the arm 17 of the gate. I Thereupon the operation just describedis repeated andA so on, as long as the machine is rotated and bottlesare supplied to the conve er.

From the oregoing description of the conwill be seen that the feeding ofthe bottles onto theholders is not only entirely automatic, but isstrictly controlled by the holders as they successively presentthemselves to receive said bottles. There can, accordingly, be nointerruption of the feeding operation so long as bottles are supplied tothe conveyer, nor on the other hand, will the stopping of the machine,or the disarrangement of any particular lholder thereof, lead to thebreaking of bottles; since under such circumstances the lfeedingoperation is immediately suspended, to beresumed, however, the moment aholder is presented in proper condition.

It will, of course, be understood that no limitation is implied by thereference herein to the use of my improvements to feed bottles onto abottle-filling machine; for obviously such improved mechanism is equallyadapted for the feeding of other containers, such as cans, onto acan-filling machine; or, in fact, for feeding objects lof equivalentcharacter onto the successive holders of any similarly movable receivingmechanism.

anarco Also, as illustrated in Fig. 6, it is not necessary for theconveyer to extend right up to the point Where the bottles aretransferred onto the successive holders; but the pressure of thosebottles, which follow7 behind, upon those going before may be relied onif desired to advance said bottles through the Whole of the distancesmarked off by guides 10 andill. In such case, the bottles simply slidealong the smooth top of plate 4. This arrangement is of practicaladvantage When a conveyer, as an endless belt 23 in the ligure lastreferred to, is employed to bring the bottles up to Vthe feedingmechanism.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanismherein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the followingclaims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as myinvention 1. In mechanism for feeding bottles or the like onto a seriesof conjointly movable holders,the combination With bottle feedingmechanism comprising an endless `conveyer v disposed adjacent to suchholders, of spaced guides alined with said conveyer, having dischargeends adjacent to such holders and the inner of said guides beingoscillatory in the plane of said conveyer, and a resilient fingercarried by said inner guide and extending into the path of such holdersand adapted to transfer thereto a bottle discharged from between saidguides.

2. In mechanism for feeding bottles or the like onto a series ofconjointly movable holders, the combination with bottle feedingmechanism comprising an endless conveyer disposed adjacent to suchholders, of spaced guides alined with said conveyer, having dischargeends adjacent to such holders and the inner of said guides beingoscillatory in the plane of said conveyer, and a gate normallyrestraining the transfer of bottles from between said guides to suchholders, said gate being adapted to be rendered inoperative by suchholders.

3. In mechanism for feeding bottles or the like onto a series of conjointly movable holders, the combination With bottle feeding mechanismcomprising an endless conveyer disposed adjacent to such holders, ofspacedv guides alined with said lconveyer, having discharge endsadjacent to such holders and the inner of said guides being oscillatoryin the plane of said conveyer, and a resilient linger carried by saidinner guide and extending into the path of such holders and adapted totransfer thereto a bottle discharged from between said guides; and agate normally restraining such transfer, and being adapted to berendered inoperative by such holders.

4. In mechanism for feeding bottles or the like onto a series ofconjointly movable holders, the combinationl with bottle feedingmechanism comprising an endless conveyer disposed adjacent to suchholders, of spaced guides .alined with said conveyer, having dischargeends adjacent to such holders and the inner of said guides beingoscillatoryin the plane of said conveyer; a pivotal gate having an armadapted to restrain such transfer of bottles from between said guides tosuch holders; and means normally 'thus positioning said gate; said gatebeing adaptedto be engaged and swung into inoperative position byrespective holders. v Signed byjme this 10th day of February, 1911.

JOSEPHv H. CHAMP.

Attested by:

T. L; Hnms,

JOHN H. ROBERTS.

